Container anchor rack

ABSTRACT

An inexpensive rack including a stand for supporting a barrel, drum, garbage can or the like container in spaced relation above the ground and abutments in the form of rollers and a rotatably mounted cam upstanding from the stand for lockably engaging with the inner surface of an annular rim extending below the bottom wall of the container.

United States Patent [191 [111 3,820,750 Deike June 28, 1974 CONTAINER ANCHOR RACK 2,675,986 4/1954 Fisher 248/310 X [761 Inventor: Robert Deike, ZI 16 Pioneer -1 5233332 311322 2121????23:iiiiiijjijiiiijjiijiii: 32135123 Cheyenne, Wyo. 82001 [22] Filed: Sept. 1972 FOREIGN PATENTS O11 APPLICATIONS 990,360 4/1965 Great Britain 248/146 [21] 7 Appl. No: 291,791 241,784 10/1962 Australia 248/154 Related U.S. Application Data Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 169,919, Aug. 9, 1971.

U.S. Cl 248/154, 248/156, 248/310, 248/311, 248/361 R Int. Cl B65f 1/14 Field of Search 248/146, 154, 310, 147, 248/361 R, 361 B, 361 W, 148, 311,140, 142, 156; 232/38, 39, 41 A; 220/1 T References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1934 Sandberg et a1. 248/147 l/l954 Whitley 248/147 Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistant Examiner-Rodney D. Bonick Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Bean & Bean 5 7] ABSTRACT An inexpensive rack including a stand for supporting a barrel, drum, garbage can or the like container in spaced relation above the ground and abutments in the form of rollers and a rotatably mounted cam upstanding from the stand for lockably engaging with the inner surface of an annular rim extending below the bottom wall of the container.

6 Claims, 8 Drawing; Figures CONTAINER ANCHOR RACK REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 169,919, filed Aug. 9, 1971, for Container Anchor Rack.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In my co-pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 169,919, filed Aug. 9, 1971, there is disclosed a Container Anchor Rack comprising a stand for supporting a barrel, drum, garbage can or like container in a spaced relation above the ground. Mounted on the stand are a pair of upstanding abutments and a rotatably mounted cam arranged to engage the outer surface of the lower rim of the container for the purpose of removably locking the container on the stand.

A problem encountered with the above described device is that the cam and/or abutments will tend to deform the container rim through repeated use and may lessen the effectiveness or holding power of the lock formed by the abutments and cam.

A further drawback of my prior construction is that it requires a portion of the rack to extend radially outwardly of lower rim of the container, thereby to present a possible hazzard to users.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed towards an improved container anchor rack.

More particularly, the present invention is directed towards a rack, wherein a pair of abutments and a rotatable cam are arranged to engage with the inner surface of the lower rim of a container, such that excessive deformation of the rim is opposed by the hoop strength thereof. Any minor deformation, which may occur during use, is advantageous in insuring proper locking of the container on the stand.

By arranging the operating parts of the rack for engagement with the inner surface of the container rim, the whole of the rack remains essentially hidden below the container and thus does not constitute a hazzard to a user of the container.

In a preferred form of the present invention, which is particularly adapted for use with large containers arranged in park or like areas subject to vandalism, the abutments are in the form of steel rollers or disc having serrated or knurled rims and a steel plate cam. The cam is configured to permit it to step along the inner surface of the container rim and finally snap into its fully locked condition, whereby to provide an audible and physical sensation advising of proper locking movements.

In an alternative form of the invention particularly adapted for use with light weight containers, the abutments or rollers and the plate cam are formed of a resiliently deformable material and frictional forces are relied upon to retain the container in position on the stand. This alternative form also features an inexpensive, readily fabricated stand formed essentially of a thin walled channel.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explosed perspective view showing the rack according to the present invention in association with a barrel, drum, garbage can or like container;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the rack;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the locking cam;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of alternate locking cam and stand constructions;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken generally along 66 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the several elements employed in forming the alternative stand construction illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the alternative stand construction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Now referring particularly to FIGS. 1 and 3, it will be understood that the rack of the present invention, which is generally designated as 10, may be employed to support a barrel, drum, garbage can or like container 12 in spaced relation above to ground G. Rack 10 in- 'cludes any suitable ground anchor 14, such as that disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,274 which is a Continuation-in-Part of my U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,069. For purposes of reference, a suitable ground anchor 14 would include a post 16, which is disposed within the ground, and a post mounted head plate 18, which serves to mount upstanding screw threaded stand anchor bolts 20.

Containers with which the rack of the present invention may be employed are characterized as having a lower annular rim 22, which extends below container bottom wall 24. Depending on the specific construction of the receptacle, rim 22 may be cylindrical or be downwardly and inwardly tapered.

Rack 10 further includes an angle iron stand or framework 25 having a pair of divergent legs 26 and a pair of cross-struts 28. The apex of the stand has an upstanding sleeve 30 welded to the convergent ends of legs 26, and struts 28 are arranged in a parallel relationship and welded to'legs 26 intermediate their respective ends.

The angle irons forming the legs 26 are arranged so thattheir top faces or legs 26a will lie essentially within a common horizontal plane and their side faces or legs 26b will depend from the inner edges of the faces 26a. The angle irons forming the struts 28 will have their flat horizontal faces or legs 28a at the bottoms thereof and projecting forwardly from the upstanding vertical faces or legs 28b.

The struts 28 have holes 280 through their faces 28a;

. two holes being shown in the longer and one hole being shown in the shorter of struts 28.. These holes receive the upper ends of mounting bolts 20. Nuts 20a are threaded on the bolts 20 to underlie the bottom faces 28a and support the stand on the bolts 20 at a desired level. Nuts 20b are threaded on the ends of the bolts projecting through the legs 28a to clamp lock the stand between nuts 20a and 20b. In this manner, the stand may be mounted in fixed horizontal relation above head plate 18. If the surface of ground G is not horizontal, adjustments of nuts 20a may be relied upon to level the stand. Also, if desired, the head plate may be made adjustable relative to the ground anchor in order to permit leveling of the stand.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the divergent ends of the legs 26 have longitudinally elongated, adjustment slots 31 formed in their top faces 26a. A threaded bolt or stud 32 is adjustably mounted in each of slots 31 by means of upper and lower washers 34a and 34b and upper and lower nuts 36a and 36b, respectively. Journaled intermediate the enlarged head of bolt 32 and upper nut 36a is an abutment in the form of a roller 38. In the preferred form of the present invention, roller 38 is a fiat metal disc whose entire rim is formed with serrations 40 extending between opposite surfaces of the disc.

As best shown in FIG. 4, sleeve 30 serves to journal a stud 42 having a metal plate cam 44 suitably affixed, as by welding, to its upper end to extend in a horizontal plane. Stud 42 may be axially fixed relative to sleeve 30 by any suitable means, such as stud affixed upper and lower washers 46a and 46b. Desired rotations may be imparted to cam 44 by means of a tubular handle 48, which is removably slip fitted onto the radially extending lower end 50 of stud 42.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 4, it will be seen that the camming surface or rim 52 of cam 44 is serrated and characterized as having a progressively increasing radius and as terminating adjacent a radially extending enlargement or finger 54. Preferably, the distance between adjacent crests 56 of the serrations on the camming surface 52 is less than the distance between enlargement 54 and the crest 56a of a serration immediately adjacent to such enlargement.

In using the stand of the present invention, bolts 32 would be initially adjusted lengthwise within slots 31 to vary the distances between rollers 38 and cam 44, as required to accommodate the stand to the inside diameter of lower rim 22. When this has been accomplished, the container is merely set down on the stand to an extent sufficient to place the lower surface of bottom wall 24 in supporting engagement with the upper ends of bolts 32 and stud 42. Then, handle 48 is slip fitted onto stud end 50 and the handle manipulated to effect rotation of cam 44 in a counter-clockwise direction away from its fully unlocked position illustrated in phantom line in FIG. 2. As cam 44 is rotated, camming surface 52 is brought into engagement with the inner surface of rim 22 and the rim thereby translated horizontally to bring the rim into frictional engagement with rollers 38, whereupon the rim and rollers are forced to rotate during continued movement of the cam into its fully locked position, which is defined by engagement of enlargement 54 with the rim and shown in full line in FIG. 2. During rotation of cam 44, serrations 56 uniformly "step along the inner surface of the rim and tend to give both an audible and physical sensation of locking movement. As the fully locked position is approached, serration 56a moves over center relative to a line drawn normal to rim 22 through a stud 42 and permits enlargement 54 to snap into engagement with the rim; such snapping action giving a clear indication that the cam is seated in its fully locked position. All this time, handle 48 is removed in order to prevent unauthorized removal of the receptacle.

During the locking operation, the serrations provided on both the rollers and cam tend to bit into the rim in order to positively maintain the receptacle locked on the stand. However, deformation of the rim is not excessive, since the rim acts as a tension ring.

An alternative form of the stand of the present invention, which is designated as 25 in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, is

particularly adapted to provide a low cost installationfor use with small receptacles and/or in areas where the incidence of vandalism is not high. For purposes of convenient reference, primed numbers are employed to designate elements of stand 25, which are similar to those described with reference to stud 25.

Specifically with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, this alternative construction is shown as differing from that previously described in that the metal rollers and cam are replaced by rollers 38' and cam 44' formed of a resiliently deformable material, such as rubber, which are preferably characterized as having relatively smooth, upwardly and outwardly tapering rims.

This construction requires no operating handle for cam 44', since rotation of the container is employed to drive the cam between unlocked and locked positions shown in phantom and full line, respectively in FIG. 5. As the container is rotated into its locked position, both the rollers and cam are deformed to insure positive frictional gripping without deforming rim 22.

Again referring to FIGS. 5-8, it will be understood that stand 25' also differs from that previously described in that legs 26' are formed from a single, essentially U-shaped light guage metal channel member 59 and only a single angle iron type strut 28 is joined thereto, as by welding. The channel member forming legs 26' includes a bottom or connecting portion 60, a pair of upstanding and parallel side portions 62, and a pair of inturned upper flange portions 64. As best shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, bottom flange portion 60 of each of legs 26' is formed with slots 31 to receive roller mounting bolts or studs 32' and apertures 66 to receive the upper ends of anchor bolts 20, whereas bottom face 28a of strut 28' is formed with a single mounting bolt receiving aperture or hole 280'.

By referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, it will be understood that the stand is fabricated by cutting one each of side portion 62 and upper portion 64, as well as a portion of bottom portion 60, as at 70, to permit the channel member to be wrapped about sleeve 30. Assembly of the stand is completed by welding sleeve 30' to the thus defined convergent ends of legs 26 and strut 28' to legs 26 intermediate the ends thereof.

I claim:

1. An anchor rack for a container having a lower annular rim extending below a bottom wall thereof, said rack comprising in combination:

a horizontal stand;

means depending from said stand for holding said stand in spaced relation above the ground;

a pair of rollers upstanding from said stand in a spaced relationship and engaging an inner surface of said rim at points spaced peripherally thereof;

a stud upstanding from said stand in spaced relation from said rollers; and

a cam supported by said stud for rotary movements about a vertically disposed axis, said rollers being rotatable about axes arranged essentially parallel to said axis of rotation of said cam, and said cam having a peripheral surface engaging said inner surface of said rim at a point opposite said points engaged by said rollers to force said rim against said rollers and clamp the container to said stand upon rotation of said cam about said axis between release and clamping positions.

2. The rack according to claim 1, wherein said rollers are metal discs and the rims of said discs being serrated.

3. The rack according to claim 2, wherein said cam is a metal plate having a serrated rim.

4. The rack according to claim 1, wherein said rollers and said cam are formed of a resiliently deformable material, said cam being rotated in opposite directions between said clamping and release positions by frictional engagement with said inner surface of said rim.

5. The rack according to claim 4, wherein said rollers taper upwardly and outwardly.

6. an anchor rack for a container having a lower annular rim extending below a bottom wall thereof, said rack comprising in combination:

a horizontal stand;

means depending fromysaid stand for holding said stand in spaced relation above the ground;

a pair of flat metal discs having serrated rims;

a pair of studs upstanding from said frame in a spaced relationship for supporting said discs for rotation about essentially parallel vertically disposed axes with said serrated rims in engagement with an inner surface of said rim at points spaced peripherally thereof;

an other stud upstanding from said stand in spaced relation from said pair of studs; and

a cam supported by said other :stud for rotary movements about an axis disposed essentially parallel to said axes, said cam being a metal plate having a peripheral camming surface of progressively increasing radius terminating adjacent a radially extending enlargement, said camming surface being serrated and the distance between crests of the serrations thereof being less than the distance between said enlargement and the crest of a serration adjacent said enlargement, said camming surface engaging said inner surface of said rim at a point opposite said points engaged by said serrated rims to force said rim against said serrated rims and clamp the container to said stand upon rotation of said cam about said axis between release and clamping positions, and upper ends of said disc and cam supporting studs under engaging said container bottom wall. 

1. An anchor rack for a container having a lower annular rim extending below a bottom wall thereof, said rack comprising in combination: a horizontal stand; means depending from said stand for holding said stand in spaced relation above the ground; a pair of rollers upstanding from said stand in a spaced relationship and engaging an inner surface of said rim at points spaced peripherally thereof; a stud upstanding from said stand in spaced relation from said rollers; and a cam supported by said stud for rotary movements about a vertically disposed axis, said rollers being rotatable about axes arranged essentially parallel to said axis of rotation of said cam, and said cam having a peripheral surface engaging said inner surface of said rim at a point opposite said points engaged by said rollers to force said rim against said rollers and clamp the container to said stand upon rotation of said cam about said axis between release and clamping positions.
 2. The rack according to claim 1, wherein said rollers are metal discs and the rims of said discs being serrated.
 3. The rack according to claim 2, wherein said cam is a metal plate having a serrated rim.
 4. The rack according to claim 1, wherein said rollers and said cam are formed of a resiliently deformable material, said cam being rotated in opposite directions between said clamping and release positions by frictional engagement with said inner surface of said rim.
 5. The rack according to claim 4, wherein said rollers taper upwardly and outwardly.
 6. an anchor rack for a container having a lower annular rim extending below a bottom wall thereof, said rack comprising in combination: a horizontal stand; means depending from said stand for holding said stand in spaced relation above the ground; a pair of flat metal discs having serrated rims; a pair of studs upstanding from said frame in a spaced relationship for supporting said discs for rotation about essentially parallel vertically disposed axes with said serrated rims in engagement with an inner surface of said rim at points spaced peripherally thereof; an other stud upstanding from said stand in spaced relation from said pair of studs; and a cam supported by said other stud for rotary movements about an axis disposed essentially parallel to said axes, said cam being a metal plate having a peripheral camming surface of progressively increasing radius terminating adjacent a radially extending enlargement, said camming surface being serrated and the distance between crests of the serrations thereof being less than the distance between said enlargement and the crest of a serration adjacent said enlargement, said camming surface engaging said iNner surface of said rim at a point opposite said points engaged by said serrated rims to force said rim against said serrated rims and clamp the container to said stand upon rotation of said cam about said axis between release and clamping positions, and upper ends of said disc and cam supporting studs under engaging said container bottom wall. 